There is no job in America where continued failure, ineffectiveness, and ineptitude in job performance are highly rewarded except as a Prosecutor of Domestic Violence in Clark County and Clark County Sheriff's Department Intimate Partner Domestic Violence Supervisor. What is validated and crystal clear is a combination of two factors resulting in the pervasive growth in Clark County's Domestic Violence. First, a definitive, pervasive, and philosophic policy that allows for the inability of victims to bring Domestic Violence cases forward. Second, Prosecutorial ineffectiveness in prosecuting prolific, reoccurring abusive crimes. The effects of these two factors have resulted in the unprecedented growth of Domestic Violence abusers (serial Offenders) to reoffend multiple victims multiple times in Springfield and Clark County.
The other side of this equation is the inability of the victim to come forward, press charges, and go to trial. The pervasive philosophical belief embedded in Advocacy, Outreach, and Victim support services is ideologically counter-productive. This set of beliefs leads to outcomes that are the opposite of what the ideology of Domestic Violence Advocacy, Outreach, and Victim support services intends or desires. In other words, it is when pursuing ideological goals undermines or harms the very cause they are meant to advance. The most significant source of pressures that discourage victims from coming forward to court comes from the operating philosophy of Project Woman working in conjunction with the Clark County Sheriff's Department and Prosecutors Office.
Legislators and funders have expected Domestic Violence victim service programs to demonstrate that they are making a significant difference in the lives of those using their services. The expectation is to provide victim services to assist and improve survivors' lives. These outreach services offer a broad range of support for survivors and their families, including shelter programs, advocacy services, transitional housing, support groups, supervised visitation centers, Outreach, and counseling services. These are often nonprofit organizations that rely on volunteers and paid staff to meet victims' needs. The services are well intended and are needed. However, the operating premise of their philosophy is to provide support for victims with service, but it does not alleviate Domestic Violence in the community. The current philosophy is to empower survivors of Domestic Violence to make decisions and choices that will establish and maintain safety for themselves and their children WITHOUT encouraging victims to come forward. This philosophy is upheld by Clark County and the City of Springfield duly sworn officers of the law and court prosecutors. In that case, the philosophy is ideologically counter-productive.
Springfield Domestic Violence Coalition appreciates ABC-22 Dayton and Reporter Jenilee Borek for posting the full news report interviews with Mr. Steward and Sergeant Denise Jones on Facebook.
Many of Sergeant Denise Jones's (in Uniform) comments were not of her own opinion but official statements on behalf of Clark County. Sergeant Denise Jones's statements led SDVC to research the Springfield Police Department's and Clark County Sheriff's Office policies on law enforcement conduct.
SDVC found specific examples of violations of Springfield Police Department's and Clark County Sheriff's Office policy, State of Ohio Code of Ethics Violations for Law Enforcement, Federal and Civil Rights Violations, and possible criminal charges.
The full transcript of the ABC-22 Dayton interview with Clark County Sheriff's Department Sergeant Denise Jones (Intimate Partner Violence Supervisor) is attached. The video conversation, unedited by Springfield Domestic Violence Coalition, is also attached.
1. SDVC Demands the removal of Sergeant Denise Jones as Intimate Partner Violence Supervisor of the Clark County Sheriff's Office and to be permanently reassigned to another Sheriff's office position. Furthermore, Sergeant Denise Jones should terminate working in coordination with Project Women in an official capacity on behalf of the Sheriff's Office. Working with Project Woman is a conflict of interest and is a violation of Ohio's Code of Ethics based on the presence of the Project Woman’s’ organization with established office space within the Clark County Sheriff's Office. The National Sheriffs' Association's Code of Ethics for Sheriffs states that sheriffs should not use the office for private gain during their tenure. Any funds collected for leasing or rental of space provided by Project Woman must be publicly disclosed. Furthermore, the funds collected must be publicly disclosed to the Ohio Auditor of State.
2. The Sheriff is responsible for various funds such as the General Fund, the Furtherance of Justice Fund, the Inmate Fund, the Commissary Fund, the Prisoner Return Fund, and Law Enforcement Funds. SDVC demands accountability for the $675,000 grant funding. Federal law requires that information about entities and organizations receiving federal funds be disclosed to the public, as well as financial data, such as expenses paid for with federal funds, compliance information to ensure the recipient follows federal regulations, and project data highlighting progress and community impact.
3. Distribution and public notification of The Clark County Sheriff's Office, Official Statements or Policy Statements by the Sheriff’s Office must be endorsed by the current Sheriff. Most law enforcement officials have outlined the rules of engagement with news media and have established representatives who speak on behalf of the Office or Department. These media relations officers have guidelines and regulations they must follow; after all, they represent the City, County, or State on behalf of their agency. Representatives must reflect the culture, values, and ethics of their agency and are allowed to expound on how the agency will achieve its goals, reduce risk, and improve areas of safety and well-being of the community. It is not uncommon for a representative of an agency to elaborate on incorrect information, data, or a version of events to be initially presented to the public, even when there's evidence to the contrary. The official statements made by Sergeant Denise Jones, speaking for the Clark County Sheriff's Office and the City of Springfield and Clark County, need to be examined
SDVC demands a signed public notification by The Clark County Sheriff's Office, endorsing Sergeant Denise Jones’ Official Statements and Policy Statements made on ABC-22 Dayton by Sheriff Deb Burchett.
SDVC notes that Sergeant Denise Jones of the Clark County Sheriff's Office, The Clark County Sheriff's Office, Clark County, and The City of Springfield violated the following:
1. The Sheriff's Department's negligence in the failure to behave with the level of care for victims of domestic violence by their own admission, The Clark County Sheriff's Office stated their actions in an inability to proceed with charges of known crimes and their omission to take actions presented threat to the public from serial domestic violence offenders which demonstrates negligence on behalf of the Clark County Sheriff's Office. The Clark County Sheriff's Office had a duty to act on victim statements of domestic violence but instead referred matters to Project Woman, a nonprofit organization, for financial gain.
2. Sergeant Denise Jones of the Clark County Sheriff's Office made official statements for The Clark County Sheriff's Office, Clark County, and The City of Springfield. The policy statements were concerning Domestic Violence: "(Domestic Violence) numbers are up, but numbers up isn't always a bad thing," "Higher (Domestic Violence) numbers aren't always a bad thing," "Again, could a spike in women or people of color coming in to report (Domestic Violence) to us? That could potentially be a good thing". These statements demonstrate a total disregard for public safety and demonstrate a lack of concern of law enforcement, Clark County, and the City of Springfield in addressing the rising domestic violence. Due to Sergeant Denise Jones admitting that she acted alone and took ownership of Clark County's intimate partner office, her lack of inaction as a duly sworn law enforcement action directly resulted in harm to individuals and the community by her negligence in protecting the community from serial Domestic Violence offenders. Sergeant Denise Jones acknowledges Serial Domestic Violence offenders exist in the community and has failed to notify the public and refused to take action against such known offenders. Sergeant Denise Jones's inaction and failure to respond to this community emergency promptly, not adequately investigating crimes, and neglecting to address the known safety hazards presented is a high degree of misconduct on behalf of Clark County's intimate partner office.
3. Civil Rights Violations Under Federal Law (42 U.S.C. Section 1983). Sergeant Denise Jones's inactions and disregard of public safety by her own admission, "Higher (Domestic Violence) numbers aren't always a bad thing," is directly and indirectly violating and depriving individuals of their constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, which extends the Bill of Rights to the states and ensures equal protection under the law. Sergeant Denise Jones engaged in discriminatory practices, failed to provide equal protection to all individuals, and violated the Civil Rights Act of 1871 (Section 1983) by her actions of discrimination based on race and ethnicity. By her admission of incompetence, "Again, could a spike in women or people of color coming in to report to us, That could potentially be a good thing"... because traditionally marginalized folks are not a community that we even get in the office".
4. Sergeant Denise Jones engaged in discriminatory practices under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act 1964. This act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. If a police department receives federal funding, it must adhere to this law and cannot engage in discriminatory policing. According to the Springfield News-Sun, February 14, 2018, The Sheriff's office is one of six organizations to receive a $675K grant as part of an initiative to strengthen L.E.'s response to sexual and domestic violence. The grant will provide the Sheriff's office with resources, support, training, and technical assistance to build capacity "and raise awareness of the existence and impact of gender bias on responses to domestic and sexual violence," according to a news release. The Clark County sheriff's office will work with several national agencies, including the Chiefs Association, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the National Crime Victim Law Institute "to identify aspects of agency culture that may create or sustain biases, develop sustainable strategies to address and eliminate the impact of bias on the response to and investigation of sexual and domestic violence, and implement trauma-informed, victim-centered procedures agency-wide. Sergeant Denise Jones states: "I'm going to use my community-based partners (Project Woman) because regardless of where the criminal justice system sits or where that person sits in that system, I want them to get access to services and get that help that they need regardless if they work with law enforcement or not. I want everybody in our community to feel comfortable coming to us. Again, this is not contingent on me pushing you through the criminal justice system. We don't push everybody to file charges." The Clark County Sheriff's Office has delegated its sworn duty to protect citizens affected by Domestic Violence and Crime to a community nonprofit. The Springfield Police Department and Clark County Intimate Partner Violence Department have failed to investigate the rising crime and offending of African American females within the community and have been unable to bring criminal charges forward. The Clark County Sheriff's Office and The City of Springfield have exhibited a pattern or practice of dropping or dismissing domestic violence investigations based on ethnicity and race.
5. SDVC has urged The U.S. Department of Justice to initiate investigations into these law enforcement agencies based on those exhibited patterns or practices of violating civil rights. The Department of Justice has issued guidance on racial profiling, and we strongly urge the Department to use its full authority to investigate The Clark County Sheriff's Department Intimate Partner Violence Supervisor Sergeant Denise Jones and the City of Springfield based on those patterns or practices of discrimination.
6. Reporting to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation & Identification, SDVC examined the State-Level Offense against the City of Springfield and Clark County Sheriff's Department for criminal charges of misconduct and dereliction of duty. Upon accepting the $675,00 grant money, the Clark County Sheriff's Department failed to report any Domestic Violence incidents in 2020 and 2021.
MANDATED REPORTING: Reporting of Domestic Violence incidents and arrests was set in motion by the creation of the Supreme Court of Ohio Domestic Violence Task Force in 1995. In 1996, the Domestic Violence Task Force issued its report called "Increasing Safety for Victims; Increasing Accountability of Offenders ." That report set the groundwork for compelling mandated Domestic Violence Incident tracking by the Ohio Attorney General's office. The Ohio Attorney General's Office expanded the requirement of Ohio Revised Code § 3113.32 that mandates reporting of domestic violence incidents to the Ohio Attorney General to include homicide, felonious assault, and aggravated assault involving a family member or current or former household member. Reporting should include case dispositions if criminal charges are filed.
Domestic Violence Data reporting requirements:
● ORC 3113.32 outlines the responsibility of local law enforcement agencies in Ohio to report domestic dispute and domestic violence problems to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation & Identification each month. These monthly reports are due by the last day of the following month. (For example, the monthly domestic violence report data for March 1 – 31 would be due by April 30.)
● Pursuant to 3113.32, the Attorney General's Office is also required to produce an annual report of domestic violence statistics. As such, all data for a given reporting year are due by January 31 of the following year. For example, data for January 2019 through December 2019 reporting would need to be submitted by January 31, 2020
Definitions for Reporting Domestic Violence Arrests or Incidents:
● A Domestic Violence Incident (DVI) charge (Ohio Rev. Code § 2919.25)
● Violating Protection Order/Consent Agreement charge (Ohio Rev. Code § 2919.27)
● or any equivalent local ordinance
7. SDVC found a Violation Of the Ohio Code Of Ethics. Public officials and employees violate the conflicts of interest provision of the Ohio Ethics Law when they take official action or make decisions in matters that definitely and directly affect themselves, their family members, or their business associates. Simply put, a public official has a "conflict of interest" when his or her ability to be an objective decision-maker is impaired by his or her interests or the interests of family members or business associates. SDVC strongly suggests the relationship between Sergeant Denise Jones and Lauren Dennis working with Project Woman is a conflict of interest because it affects Sergeant Denise Jones' ability to be an objective decision-maker and impairs her ability to do the job as Deputy for the Clark County Sheriff's Office due to her interests.
Police are required to gather evidence and determine probable cause for an arrest warrant, even if the victim doesn't want to press charges. Furthermore, while the average citizen isn't obligated to report a crime, some professionals are mandated reporters. These professionals are required to report suspected crimes against vulnerable individuals, such as children, the elderly, and those with physical or mental impairments. Mandatory reporters include:
● Health care workers
● Teachers and school employees
● Clergy
● Licensed therapists
● Child protection workers
● Law enforcement
● Childcare workers
● Camp counselors
The fact that Sergeant Denise Jones' made the statement:
"So we usually average about 700 to 750 cases just for our unit annually".
If none or only some incidents are reported, that is as a severe violation of her duty as a sworn Deputy of Clark County. The question that needs to be asked is, where is the Clark County data supporting all these arrests? If these 700-750 are not reported crimes, how does Sergeant Denise Jones know there have been 750 reported Domestic Violence incidents? The assumption is that a Domestic Violence victim walks into the Sheriff's Department and talks to Sergeant Denise Jones; the person identifies that they are a victim of a crime, and Sergeant Denise Jones does not report this incident.
WHERE IS THE SDVC NUMBERS AND DATA COMING FROM?
Sergeant Denise Jones further states, "My concern initially is where are the numbers coming from." I've seen some reports from the Springfield Domestic Violence Coalition. My concern is if they are putting out numbers from the domestic relations court. Domestic relations court doesn't handle criminal offenses, so my concern would be where those numbers are coming from”.
As mentioned in the interview, SDVC does NOT produce the data; SDVC only reports on the presented data and compiles summary data for display. All crime and incident data initially comes from the Springfield Police Department, Clark County Sheriff's Office, and the Ohio and Clark County Department of Health. The Justice source data (non court data) below originates from those agencies. Therefore, if there is a dispute about the data being inaccurate, look within the agency reporting because that's where it originated. Law enforcement must report crime and incident data to state and federal agencies. (It happens to be the case that both S.P.D. and CCSO have failed to report or have not submitted all requested data within the last 5-years)
Furthermore, State and Federal Agencies are tasked to collect the data and perform aggregate statistical measures to identify State or County incidents and arrest counts and determine rates per listed crimes. SDVC is very surprised by the statements of Sergeant Denise Jones;
"My concern initially is where are the numbers coming from." This statement implies that Sergeant Denise Jones has no comprehension or understanding of crime statistics or where the reported data originates. More importantly, Sergeant Denise Jones needs to learn that the agency she works for is required by law to report crime and incident data regularly, which is genuinely incompetence at its highest form. Ignorance of the law is no excuse."
SOURCES
City of Springfield Municipal Prosecutor's Office (Case Search and Inquiry)
This is a Case Search Inquiry. The website will allow users to search by Criminal case, Traffic Case, Civil Case, Parking Case and Temporary Protection Order Case. The search will display the subject's entire Criminal Case history in Clark County, All the subjects court documents, dispositions, sentences and police reports.
Clark County Prosecutor's Office (Case Search and Inquiry)
The case information contained within this website is generated from computerized records maintained by the Clark County Clerk of Courts and is deemed to be public information. The site will allow the user to search the subject's entire court case history.
Department of Justice Statistics for Clark County
The Department of Justice provides statistics on a wide variety of subjects. The component links below will help you find what you're looking for, but you should also consider searching all Department of Justice websites to find exactly what you need. This is an excellent site to find aggregate statistics on various crimes Nationally and by state.
F.B.I. Uniform Crime Reports (U.C.R.)
Federal Bureau of Investigation | Crime Data Explorer
The F.B.I.'s Crime Data Explorer (C.D.E.) aims to provide transparency, create easier access, and expand awareness of criminal and noncriminal law enforcement data sharing; improve accountability for law enforcement; and provide a foundation to help shape public policy with the result of a safer nation. Use the C.D.E. to discover available data through visualizations, download data in .csv format, and other large data files
F.B.I. National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
The U.C.R. was discontinued in 2022 and was replaced by NIBRS. This site has State and City crime data. As the U.C.R. Program transitions to a NIBRS-only data collection, changes have been implemented at the national level, though not all have been adopted by state and local agencies at this time. Applicable specifications are identified below.
Ohio Incident-Based Reporting System (OIBRS)
The Ohio Statistical Analysis Center collects crime data from every County and city in the State of Ohio. The website has a crime dashboard and the dashboard visualizes statewide monthly offense counts and rates across categories of crime, reported by Ohio law enforcement agencies.
Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (OBCI)
The Ohio Attorney General's Office has a wide range of data collection on crime and Domestic Violence. The AG's office is mandated to collect certain data as per the Ohio Revised Code for Uniform Criminal Reporting.
Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse (OPHD)
The Data & Statistics website at OPHD has a list of interactive applications, published reports and other resources related to data and analyses at O.D.H.
The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)
This website collects information about violent deaths, including homicides, suicides, and deaths caused by law enforcement acting in the line of duty. NVDRS Violent Deaths Report: Reports for All Ages include those of unknown age. The manner of death reported here is assigned by the state abstractor based on all available standard NVDRS data sources. WISQARS National Violent Death Reporting System Pregnancy Status is for females of reproductive age, 15 to 49.
State of Ohio Courts of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division (Domestic Violence)
Clark County Only
State of Ohio Courts of Common Pleas, General Division (Criminal)
Clark County Only
State of Ohio Municipal and County Courts (Criminal)
Clark County Only
The interest of a Sheriff's Office is, first and foremost, to be the jailer of the County. The Sheriff is tasked with keeping innocent people in their custody. Occasionally, the Sheriff will take custody of people convicted of a crime to serve their remaining sentence. As communities grow, local police departments result in a dichotomy of services between the daily functioning of police officers and sheriffs. However, the duties of a Sheriff's Office Deputy are:
1. Enforcing laws enacted for the protection of the lives, persons, property, health and morals of the people.
2. Investigating crimes.
3. Attending terms of court.
4. Serving, executing and returning process.
5. Keeping custody of the courthouse and jail.
6. Keeping custody and control of convicts.
7. Collecting taxes
SDVC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BETH DONAHUE
Beth was born and raised in Springfield, and the Springfield Donahue Family goes back five generations in this great city. Beth's Great-Great-Grandparents were married in Springfield in 1878. On a side note, Donahue & Hankel was the first (1st) Beer Distributor company in Clark County in the late 30s.
Beth's Grandfather's picture still hangs in the Springfield Police Department
- Sgt. Bill Donahue was appointed Police Officer in 1954, Appointed Sergeant in 1968, and retired in 1979. Beth also had two Great Uncles that served with the Springfield Police Department. You might say the "Irish" Donahue's lived up to their name. Beth's Uncle retired as a Police Captain from the Xenia Police Department after 30 years of service. The Blue runs through the whole Donahue Family.
"It takes courage and dedication to fill the shoes of a Police officer. That is why SDVC needs to work with Law enforcement and find ways in which we can help each other...Find areas to mend, find areas to improve, and find areas to commend!"
My experience with domestic violence goes like this:
24 years enduring emotional/verbal abuse
6 years of financial insecurity
4 years of my abuser controlling my religious faith
10 times I left my abusers
9 years of being stalked, threatened and followed
6 times law enforcement, lawyers, and judges believed my abuser and that I was the one lying, exaggerating and hurting myself.
5 times I asked for a restraining order and 5 times it was denied
2 times my daughter was kept from me, and the courts did nothing
And “0” ZERO is the number of arrests my Abuser received.
James Steward
Mr. Steward has a Bachelor's in Psychology and a Master's in Criminology. He is a former Professor of Institutional Research with the Department of Defense, Senior Statistician with Packaging Corporation of America, and Director of a contracting agency specializing in criminal network tracking of drug dealers, assisting over 45 Sheriff's Offices in Indiana and the Drug Enforcement Agency. Mr Steward served 21 years in the Army Reserve as a Medical Service Corps Officer. Mr. Steward is a father of three children, and his oldest son is a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer. Mr. Steward is currently the Criminologist for the Springfield Domestic Violence Coalition
(Transcription from ABC-22 Interview with James Steward, Criminologist, Springfield Domestic Violence Coalition and Sergeant Denise Jones, Clark County Sheriff's Department:
[Mr. Steward]
Q: PLEASE TELL OUR AUDIENCE ABOUT THE TYPE OF REPORTS SDVC YOUR ORGANIZATION DISSEMINATES.
Well, the reports come out once a month and we try to update with progress reports about every two weeks so people can stay informed. The report really details the prevalence of domestic violence in the community, whether it's increasing, decreasing. We also want to know the severity of violence in the community and if lethality is increasing. We also look at the demographics involved on how these victims are being offended and by who. And if there's any rise in the victims as far as demographics, a rise in Caucasian population, African-American and Hispanic.
Q: WHERE DOES SDVC GET THIS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DATA?
So the data is gathered from ten different sources. From one, all the police and county request for information reports, but more importantly from OBCI, the Attorney General's Office, UCR reports from the FBI, the NIBRS reports from the FBI, Ohio incident based reports (OIBRS) and the Department of Health. So every bit of data we use is extracted from those publicly reported sites. Now that data is provided by agencies and these agencies in Springfield and Clark County report to the state and national agencies. So it can be easily verified.
Q: TELL US ABOUT THE CHANGES FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TO THE INCREASE IN INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN CLARK COUNTY.
There is a shift that we found from domestic violence which we normally think of as husband and wife and, you know, maybe family members, father and son to more of an intimate partner violence. And that is supported by the data, less marriages and other reports from police reports, sheriff's reports, UCR reports. Reporting that these women are single and on OBCI, they report what the relationship status is.
Q: TELL US HOW THE CITY AND COUNTY REACTED TO THE STUDY AND WHAT PLANS ARE THEY MAKING TO ADDRESS THE SITUATION
We've reached out to the city. We've talked to the mayor, council members. We've also talked to the city attorney, the city prosecutor. And when we ended up with these conversations, it ended up about jurisdictional issues, jurisdictional boundaries. Oh, wait a minute. This type of crime was committed in Clark County, not Springfield. Oh, it was arrested by the sheriff's department, not Springfield PD. I'm sorry, but this type of data went to the Clark County Common Police Court, not the Springfield Municipal Court.
So it ended up being about a domestic dispute over jurisdiction, like whose data is it’s? So what they ended up doing is pretty much dismissing the whole pie of domestic violence and really only wanting to claim their little pieces of the pie saying, well, we're responsible for this and Clark County is responsible for that. But this is a whole community and we need to be responsible for everything in this community, whether it's in German Township or in Springfield.
Q: WHY IS CLARK COUNTY AND THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD WANTING TO DISMISS YOUR CLAIMS?
Well, a lot of it has to do with data collection. And when we went to collect data, we can get data up to 2022. Then the city decided to get the new system, which is maintained by the Clark County Sheriff's department. So extracting that data is tough. And when we asked for data, existing data from 2023 to present, it's very difficult to get. The other thing, and it's just my opinion, there is no criminologist or crime analyst to observe the state and actually put out regular reports. So a lot of the information ends up getting disputed over jurisdictional instead of actually coming out in front and saying, yeah, we have a problem, we need to look at it, and how can we go about doing it? Yeah, nobody wants to take that step forward and do this.
Q: WHAT SHOULD CLARK COUNTY AND THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD DO TO ADDRESS THE CURRENT SITUATION?
Well, first, whether it's us or another organization looking at the data, first thing you need to do is establish a baseline and figure out what the heck is going on. We need to look at things from the past and be able to project towards the future. And we need common definitions. So we're all on the same page. When we describe domestic violence, that should be one thing. When we describe intimate partner, it should be another. The thing is, when you start breaking down this data, you often wonder like, how can UCR, the FBI describe it and define it as one thing? And how can our local police department define it? And still, Clark County defined it as the other in the state of Ohio, define it as the other. So if we can all get together, combine our definitions, combine the data, and make some headway, then we can hand it off right? To the direct services, the advocacy groups, all the other nonprofits that are really working hard to protect survivors.
Q: ANY LAST THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CURRENT SITUATION?
I think there can always be funds and grants headed towards nonprofits providing direct services, but in order for them to do the job that they really need to do, they kind of need to know where they're at. They collect data on a lot of their survivors, and many of them do not want to go to the police. So there's a whole data set there, as opposed to the ones that get reported into the police department. And so being able to converge those data sets and really understand what's going on in the community would help.
[END]
[Sgt. Jones]
Q: WHAT IS YOUR ROLE FOR CLARK COUNTY
So we encompass domestic violence, stalking, strangulation, protection orders, and some sexual assaults between intimate partners, but that encompasses family violence as well. So if it's familiar related, not marriage related, yes, not data related, we take all of that.
Q: WHAT IS THE STATUS OF CLARK COUNTY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?
It ebbs and flows, right? So I know everybody kind of hyper focuses on your numbers are up, but numbers up isn't always a bad thing. Last year, our numbers were a little lower. So we usually average about 700 to 750 cases just for our unit annually. Last year, without knowing the exact number, I think we were around 650 to 675. So down a little bit for us, right? We've had years where there have been spikes in numbers. We received a grant back in 2017 to completely start this program that I supervise now, which is addressing gender-based violence. And so we did see a spike in numbers. And again, ebbs and flows, right? There are some years where we see higher numbers, where we see lower numbers, or we kind of stay pretty even. But I think people hyper focus on higher numbers. Higher numbers aren't always a bad thing. If I'm doing a good job and I'm out in the community and they know we have a solid program, which we do here in Clark County, they're more apt to follow up with me, more apt to interact with me. That may not mean I'm going to take them through the criminal justice system. We co-respond or we partner with our community-based advocacy organization, Project Woman. They have space in our office. They're there Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 to noon. We co respond with them. What that means is we do a lethality assessment on scene. The deputies can call if there is a high number or if there are lethality indicators. They're immediately getting that victim on the phone with an advocate. The advocate can come out to the scene with the deputy. The deputy can transport that individual that we're working with to Project Woman to our office where they have confidential space in our office. So we do have spikes in numbers. We haven't this year so far. We're on par for our average. But again, if I'm out in the community and I'm showing that we're trauma informed, we're very victim centered with our program. We partner with the city of Springfield. So we're all kind of really addressing in a wraparound way, this particular type of crime. People are a little more comfortable coming in and that's certainly what we want. Again, that's not always pushing someone through the criminal justice system. I'm going to use my community based partners because regardless of where the criminal justice system sits or where that person sits in that system, I want them to get access to services and get that help that they need regardless if they work with law enforcement or not. I want everybody in our community to feel comfortable coming to us.
Q: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TELL THE COMMUNITY
Again, not contingent on me pushing you through the criminal justice system. We don't push everybody to file charges. I want to get in. I want to see what's going on, what's been going on, where you're at in your relationship. And then I want to get you connected with a victim services person. I want them to work with you. And if you feel comfortable enough, and we're at the stage where we're going through the criminal justice system, then we're going to try to support you collectively as best we possibly can. But not everybody ever gets there, right? A lot of people don't want to participate with law enforcement. And there are a myriad of reasons why they don't want to do that. It may not even be safe for them to do that. If we arrest an offender today, are they going to get released tomorrow and bond? We don't know. So is that person safe? We don't know, right? But we want to get you connected with services. We want to get you working with somebody. I think it takes a victim nine or more times to leave if they ever leave for good. So we want you to know if you're on time number seven, like we're still here. It's like we just met. Let's start all over again. Let's support you through the process, how you need it, not where we want you to be in the process, right?
Q: WHAT IS YOUR OPINION THAT SDVC IS REPORTING AND INCREASE IN DV, A INCREASE IN BLACK FEMALES BEING OFFENDED?
My concern initially is where are the numbers coming from. We work predominantly in the county.
Now I will take cases no matter where they occur in the county. But I have a little more flexibility to do that. Our road patrol deputies patrol the county. I've seen some reports from the Springfield Domestic Violence Coalition. My concern there is we're putting out numbers from domestic relations court. Domestic relations court doesn't handle criminal offenses. So my concern would be where those numbers are coming from. Again, could a spike in women or people of color coming in to report to us? That could potentially be a good thing. Again, right? Because traditionally marginalized folks are not a community that we even get in the office. So a lot of times for us, what we'll see is they'll work with advocates for a while, and then they'll come in and report to us. I'm not really seeing a spike in that number, but again, I work for the county sheriff's office. I would, again, question where those numbers are coming from. Because if I'm seeing them quoting domestic relations numbers, that's not going to be reflective of domestic violence cases going through our court system.
Q: WHAT IS YOUR OPINION THAT SDVC IS REPORTING AND SUGGESTING SERIAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENDERS ARE ON THE LOOSE?
We have to offer bond. We do have serial offenders here in Clark County in the city of Springfield. Typically they've been through the criminal justice system. Otherwise I wouldn't see them as serial offenders. Our advocates may see them more as serial offenders because that isn't contingent on them reporting. To law enforcement. But yes, we do have serial offenders. A lot of those offenders have been through the criminal justice system, have spent time in jail, have posted bond, have spent time in prison. So it's not like it's not something that we're not addressing. But again, this is a narcissistic individual. It's typically not a pattern that's going to stop with the first victim. So we just try to work those as best we possibly can. Again, we have a coordinated community response here in Clark County, which encompasses multiple different agencies, DD services, mental health, city lookout, project woman, both the prosecutor's office, the NAACP. So we really try to engage with our community partners. We also have a high risk team that specifically with our systems based advocates. That's through our court system. Our community based advocates with project woman city lookout will come in. Both prosecutors offices, the Clark County Sheriff's office and then the Springfield police division. So we can identify those high risk or serial offenders or stranglers. Because as you know, we just got a law last year, April of 2023. Ohio was the last state in the United States to get a standalone strangulation law, but that makes strangulation a felony. So we are trying to identify those folks because those are the folks that are at the most lethal form of domestic violence with little amount of mark or a little amount of visual injury that I can see. We look at strangulation 50% of the time there are no marks, but it's one of the least most lethal form of domestic violence without the use of a weapon. So we are meeting regularly. Those meetings are typically every two months. All the police agencies get together. We talk about these high risk individuals, these repeat offenders. So we can address them as a team and we can get those people through the criminal justice system. We do try to use evidence based prosecution. We do try to move forward without victims. There are some instances where we can and there are some instances where we cannot. But certainly just because we make an arrest doesn't mean that case is closed. We work that case from the time of the report comes in until the time that that case goes to the criminal justice system and it's adjudicated. So we really try to stay on, especially repeat serial offenders. We want to make sure that we're holding them accountable. Those are the folks DV offenders typically are cop killers. So those are the folks that we really want to hold accountable. We certainly want people in our community to feel as safe as possible, whether it be out in public or at their house. So how can we do that again? And we have really tried to, since 2017, bolster our program. So we do have more wraparound services with the city of Springfield and multiple different community based organizations that can help us kind of drive that message forward. And hopefully when the years to come, we'll be moving to like a family justice center where that's a one stop shop for victims. So we're not asking victims to go to multiple different places to get services. So hopefully that will help us as well.
Q: TELL THE AUDIENCE ABOUT HOW THE GRANT HAS IMPACTED CLARK COUNTY
When we got our grant back in 2017, the sheriff's office really didn't have a response to especially misdemeanor domestic violence cases and typically nationwide domestic violence cases are the number two call next to theft. So we really didn't have a really good response to misdemeanor, especially misdemeanor domestic violence cases. So we did get this grant. We started the program that I supervise now and we've been growing that program since leaps and bounds leaps and bounds where we used to be. The mere fact that we have community based advocates willing to come into a sheriff's office across the hall from our jail and work with us. That will recommend victims come in or survivors come in and talk to us. That says a lot for what we're doing here in the community because there's a lot of communities that don't have that relationship and don't have that capability. So yeah, I would say since 2017, like we have really changed our outlook. We really take these crimes seriously. We try everything that we possibly can to hold these offenders accountable. And we try to help these victims and survivors to get to the place that they want to be, not where we feel that they should be. And we try to do that again with evidence based prosecution that has to move forward with the victim. Then we have conversation after conversation after conversation before we even get that victim into a courtroom. So I would say that we've really done a lot over the past several years to just increase our response to and really holding these individuals accountable.
[END]
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